


Game On: Kickoff

by newbatgirl



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-07
Updated: 2017-03-07
Packaged: 2018-09-30 02:44:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10151528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/newbatgirl/pseuds/newbatgirl
Summary: First of a possible series of sports-related fics that have little to do with sports. They are mostly fluff. I like fluff and sports. I make no apologies.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Notes: Not the same universe as Taking Inventory but probably AU anyway since I am not mentioning any movie spoilers past maybe CA:TWS?  

Disclaimer: Not mine.  

 _Stark Tower…Rogers’ apartment….very early morning…_  

Steve Rogers awoke to an empty space next to him in the bed and the slamming of the bathroom door. That wasn’t good.  

He looked over at the bedside clock even though he had a good idea of what it would say. Just after four a.m. 

If there was one thing most people knew about Darcy Rogers née Lewis, it was that she wasn’t a morning person. Anyone looking to wake her before six, or even seven, had better be ready to deal with the consequences. Ideally said person should also have superhuman strength and access to decent body armor. The risk of bodily injury was not overstated in that she had only stopped sleeping with a taser under her pillow a little over a year ago. Which, not coincidentally, was when she had stopped sleeping alone.  

Steve could have probably counted on one hand the number of times she had actually been out of bed, their bed now, before him in the morning. That is, he could have, up until a few weeks ago. Now it was a regular occurrence. At least for a little while longer.  

He threw back his half of the blankets and swung his legs over the side of the bed and winced at the sounds coming from the bathroom. He really hoped this was just for a little while longer.  

He tapped on the bathroom door. “Darce? You OK?” 

The voice that replied through the door was strained. “Does it sound like I’m OK?” 

“Do you want me to make you some of that tea?” Tea they obviously should have bought more of when they were at the store earlier that week. Well, that was now first thing on the to-do list when the sun came up. 

“This is your fault.” She said through the door. 

"You're right. And I’ll take that as a yes.” He agreed with her because he was not an idiot. And also because it was true. This was his partly fault. But he would take full blame for now. And, he would stay up and make her the ginger tea instead of going back to bed. Also because he was not an idiot.  

After putting the kettle on, he warmed a towel for her head. She’d had a headache on top of everything else yesterday and that had helped. Best to be prepared. He’d been on a mission the day before that so he had no idea how bad it was and he still felt kind of guilty about not being there for her.  

Steve heard water running in the bathroom and he hoped that meant the worst was over. When she shuffled in a few minutes later, still wiping toothpaste from her mouth, he was pouring the tea.  “Any better?” he asked hopefully.  

"Why does your spawn have to take everything so literally? The books say morning sickness happens anytime of day, but nooooo, not your kid. Four a.m., every damn morning. This is an Army brat.” 

Steve wrapped his arms around her and curled her into his chest. “Yeah, that’s probably my fault too. But hopefully not for much longer.” 

Depending on their estimate of the date, Darcy was in her second month. Most of the books they had read (or rather, the ones _he_ had read while sitting on the floor outside their bathroom at four a.m.) said that morning sickness usually subsided after the third month.  

Darcy made a noise that was muffled by the fact that her face was pressed against his t-shirt.  

“What’s that?” 

"I said, you’re only saying that so I’ll have sex with you again.” The was a bit of humor in her voice so he supposed she was feeling better.  

He kissed her forehead. “I’ll admit, that’s a concern,” he replied dryly. “Come on, drink this. We’ll get more at the store later.” 

A few minutes later, once she was settled on the couch next to him, warming her hands on the mug of tea, he asked, “You want to pass on watching the game this afternoon? I can just tell everyone you’re not feeling up to it.” 

“No, I missed pizza night. If I miss another group thing, everyone is just going to wonder what’s up. The game is not until four. I should be okay by then.” 

They had agreed not to tell the others until she was further along, which made sense in theory, but it did mean Steve had to make excuses when Darcy was ill. The worst was pizza night a few nights before. Melted cheese of any kind was currently her sworn enemy, she couldn’t even be in the same room with it. Plus, pizza night in Stark Tower included beer, wine and any other alcohol that Tony and Thor could dream up so that was obviously off the table as well. He didn’t like leaving their friends out of the news but the fact was, it was still early.  

“As long as there’s no melted cheese, you should be fine, right?” Steve said, then mentally kicked himself when her face went a little pale. Evidently even saying the word was bad. 

"Tell you what, I’ll make sure we get a spot on the couch that’s far from the food, whatever it is. Even if I have to pull ‘team leader’ rank,” He told her. “Sound good?” 

“Best husband ever.” 

“Only because I want you to have sex with me again.” 

She snickered into her mug. “You say that now. Wait four or five months and I’m a beach ball with legs. We’ll see how you feel then.” 

"You're going to be the sexiest beach ball with legs there ever was.”  

“Amazing that no one’s written a song about that yet.” 

“Seven and half months, I’ve got time.” 

 He kissed her head and stroked her hair for a few minutes, trying not to move too much because she said jostling sometimes made things worse 

“Tea’s working,” she said finally, rubbing her stomach through her nightgown. She wasn’t showing yet so it was just habit, and probably because it helped the nausea. 

“Good. Do think you can get back to sleep?” 

“No, I’m up…until my inevitable afternoon crash. I better get dressed.” She set her mug on the coffee table, stood and stretched, which gave Steve a nice view of her nightgown. Deep blue and silky. With little straps. One of his favorites. 

He reached over and pulled on her hips until she was standing directly in front of him. Bringing her cleavage to his eye level. Happy accident. “Don’t get changed on my account.” 

"Your one track mind is duly noted and appreciated, soldier, but not right now, OK? They’re really sore this morning. Another fun side effect.” Still, she climbed up onto his lap until she was straddling his thighs. 

"Hell of view, though.” He dropped a kiss on her collarbone, a few inches higher than he really wanted to out of deference to the soreness. Darcy’s bustline had been fantastic to begin with but pregnant… Well, let’s just say he was just glad they were already married, she was putting on a spectacular show and he liked having a front row seat.  

Darcy kissed his forehead and frowned at her cleavage. “I really hope they don’t get much bigger or we’re going to need a bigger apartment long before Baby Rogers arrives.” 

“Speak for yourself. There’s a lot to be said in favor of a tight fit.”  

“See, it’s talk like that that got us pregnant this fast in the first place. I blame you.”  

He rubbed her rear through the silky fabric. “I would argue that nightgowns like this also played a role. Shared blame.” He punctuated his statement with a kiss to her neck, just below her ear. It was one of the few ways knew to win an argument with her.  

“I’ll concede 60/40 and only because I am not nauseous anymore. But if we're up at four a.m. again tomorrow…” 

 “All my fault. Got it.” 

 ***** 

 _Stark Tower…Roger_ _s’ apartment….shortly before noon_ _…_  

Darcy felt well enough by the time the sun came up that they managed a trip to the grocery store (for more ginger tea and a few other items they needed that weren’t melted cheese). They stopped in a café for breakfast, where Darcy savored the one measly cup of coffee she was allowed per day. They then took the long way back through Central Park, where Steve lingered a while looking at kids climbing over the jungle gym.  

By the time they got back to the apartment, Darcy could tell he was jumpy from missing his morning workout so she shooed him out to work off his excess energy in the gym. Once he was gone, she pulled some boxes out of the spare room they had been using as storage and started sorting through them. If that room was going to become a nursery in…God, seven months, she had to get rid of some of their crap. Well, to be honest, mostly her crap. 

Too late she realized that Steve was going to be cranky that she moved the boxes instead of asking him to do it. They weren’t that heavy but he was fussy about that stuff lately. 

She was amassing a pile of old college t-shirts that could be donated when JARVIS informed her that “Dr. Stark” was at her door. 

What did Tony want? They were all going to gather in the big common room in a few hours for the Giants-Cowboys game. What couldn’t wait until then?  

“Let him in, J.” When Tony came sweeping in, she grinned. He really could not enter a room like an average person. “What’s up, Metal Man?” 

"Nothing much, Lady Spangles. Where is Hubby Spangles off to?” 

Tony had a seemingly endless set of new nicknames for her now that she and Steve were married. She would never admit this to his face but Lady Spangles was her favorite. It made her feel like a sorceress.  

“Working out…but JARVIS could have told you that.” She gave him a mild version of her side eye. “What are you up to?”   

“Nothing…much. I can’t come check on my favorite lab assistant?” He eyed her piles and boxes. “The better question is what are you up too? You packing or unpacking? Don’t tell me Rogers pissed you off already?” 

 “Steve did nothing wrong. I’m just going through some of my old college stuff to see what I can get rid of. I did a lousy job of culling this stuff when I moved in here. I should just get it cleared out now.” 

Tony nodded in assent and picked up one of the boxes of ginger tea she had left on the table. Turned it over in his hands. “Hmmm, you two getting cramped for space in here?”  

Oh shoot, Tony was fishing. Not a good sign. 

“Not really. But who really needs twenty Culver University t-shirts lying around?” 

“Certainly not two people who are going to need a spare room for something else pretty soon.” 

Darcy sighed. “Shit. What gave us away? And who else knows?” 

"No one else, as far as I know. No one has said anything to me, anyway. Not even Pepper. As for how I figured it out, you begging off pizza and beer night was a big clue. Also, you never drink coffee in the lab anymore. For you that’s weird. Plus, you’ve looked a little green around the gills most of the time for a few weeks now.” He held up the box of tea. “Does this stuff help?”  

“Yeah, that or ginger ale. Melted cheese is the devil, though.” 

“Duly noted… Congrats, by the way. He’s losing his mind, isn’t he?” 

“You have no idea. He’s bouncing off the walls. He can’t wait to tell everyone. I made him wait… I kinda want to get past the first twelve weeks before…you know. The books say that after the first twelve weeks, the chance of…” 

Tony held up his hands. “I know the stats, Darcy.” 

Darcy’s eyebrows shot up. “ _How_ do you know the stats? Never mind, don’t answer that.” 

“Very funny, and not without merit. But, surprisingly and perhaps improbably, I have never have to learn this kind of thing for myself. I know, it’s the kind of thing that almost makes you believe in a benevolent creator. Anyway, I looked it up. Or JARVIS did. So I get it, you guys didn’t want to say anyone in case this…isn’t going to happen.” 

Darcy laid down the t-shirt she had been folding. “Yeah. In a nutshell. And we’ve got another month or so to go.” 

"Got it. No worries. I can keep a secret.” Darcy shot him an incredulous look so he added, “About anything that isn’t about me. I can, I swear.”  

He picked up a slim package that she hadn’t realized he had set down on the table when he came in then set it back down again. “So…this is for you guys. You two can open it today, next month, whatever. Just seemed like an occasion for a thing.” 

“Thanks, Tony, you know you didn’t have to do that.” 

He ignored her and instead looked at the boxes again. “He’s going to throw a fit when he finds out you moved those boxes by yourself.” 

“I know.” Darcy replied with a roll of her eyes. For all their bickering, Tony knew Steve pretty well. And vice versa.  

"Tell him I moved them. So, Pep’s ordering food for the game. I’ll go check on how much of it has cheese. Won’t say a word, promise.” 

Darcy shook her head. “And I won’t tell anyone what a sweet guy you really are.” 

Tony pointed to her bustline, “By the way, don’t tell Spangles this but _those_ were also a clue.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her.  

“Not that anyone would believe me,” she sighed.  

Tony shrugged and made his way to the door. He paused, then turned back. “Hey, Darcy?” 

“What is it, Tony?” 

“Look, I know I’m no good at this. It’s serious stuff and I completely get why you wouldn’t want the rest of us to know in case something goes wrong…” 

“Yeah…”  

“But that’s kind of the whole reason all of us are here. Together, in is building. In case something goes wrong.” He shrugged again. “Just a thought.” 

And he was gone before she could respond. 

Darcy sniffled, then said aloud, "I hate it when he does that, JARVIS.” 

“Yes, most people do, Ma’am.”  

*****  

 

 _Stark Tower…later that afternoon_ _…_  

Steve pushed the button for the common floor and turned back to Darcy. She had her hands buried in the pockets of her Giants hoodie – actually _his_ hoodie but ever since they started dating, his shirts had stopped being strictly _his_ anymore. 

“You sure about this?” he asked. 

“Yeah, I’m sure. You?” 

“Hey, I wanted to hire a plane dragging a banner announcing it… Wait, do people still do that?” 

Darcy shook her head. “Not really. Mostly they just set up Twitter accounts for the fetus.” 

“I am going to pretend you’re joking.” 

“You do that…but you know I’m not.” 

The elevator stopped at the next floor and Clint got on, case of beer in hand. “Hey, guys. Darce, I didn’t get any more of that hipster IPA you like ‘cause there’s still some left since you bailed on pizza night. No one else drinks that crap.” 

“OK, A: It’s not hipster crap, plenty of people drink IPA and not ironically either, and B: I did not bail. I was sick.” 

“Whatever, it’s not as fun when you’re not around to antagonize Tony.”  

Darcy rolled her eyes and exchanged a look with Steve. “You told me you would fill in for me on that.” 

He shrugged and rubbed her shoulder. “If you want a job done right, send a woman. That was almost the WAC slogan, if I recall.”  

"Pretty sure Nat has a t-shirt that says that," Clint agreed. 

"A t-shirt? I'm pretty sure Nat owns a small island named that!" Darcy said and neither man disagreed. 

The elevator doors opened and they stepped into the living room where the rest of Team Avengers and Significant Others was already grazing the buffet as the pre-game show played in the background on one of Tony's largest screens.  

Darcy perked up considerably when she saw that there were plenty of food options that did not include melted cheese. There was also, somewhat suspiciously, three different kinds of ginger ale on the beverage table. Bless Tony. (Not any self-respecting deity would...but it was the thought that counted.) 

Stark himself was in the center of the room standing near the coffee table, where he had projected a holographic football field. Tony appeared to be explaining to Thor, in short, why the Cowboys "sucked."  

Thor did not looked convinced. "I viewed the last match your Giants of New Jersey competed in, Stark, and I was not impressed," he said, gesturing with the large sandwich he was eating. 

"It's called a game, honey. Not a match." Jane said patiently, as if she did not say this every week.  

"And they're the New York Giants," Tony corrected, gesturing so that one of the helmets in his simulation enlarged dramatically to show the team logo and bounced around. 

"Is their home territory not located in New Jersey? That is what they should be called." 

Steve selected a cheeseless sandwich from the buffet. "Are you two going to have this argument every week?" 

"And why do you even root for the Cowboys anyway? Shouldn't you root for the Vikings?" Clint asked. 

Thor gave an angry growl. "They have not designed a defensive scheme worthy of their name." 

Rhodey scoffed, "Man, you've been watching football for what, a few seasons? You don’t know pain yet. Try being an Eagles fan. That's pain." 

Sam popped the cap off his beer. "That's why smart money roots for the Saints." He greeted Darcy with a kiss on her cheek and sent Tony a pointed look. "Who Dat!" 

"We're talking NFC East here, Wilson. Where real football is played. Who'd the Saints beat the last time they won a division title? Some Pop Warner kids and their grandmas?"  

"Now listen, Stark..." 

"The only team worth rooting for is the Packers." Natasha declared. "They're the only team..." 

"Wait!" Bruce called to her from over by the buffet,  "If you're going to deliver your speech on evil billionaire team owners, at least wait until I'm close enough to watch!" 

Natasha tapped her foot impatiently, "Well hurry up, then. I've reworked it." 

Bruce dropped an sandwich onto a plate, grabbed a bottle of water and hastily made his way over to the loveseat opposite her. "Okay, ready." 

Sam sank into the other end of the loveseat, "This time, can you say 'evil capitalist' in the accent? Please?" 

Darcy shot Steve an exasperated look and took a deep breath. "Guys, we need to hold off on the speeches and the arguments for a while? I have something to say." 

Pepper turned to Tony. "What did you do?" 

"What do mean, what did I do? Why do you assume this has something to do with me?" 

Bruce sighed, "Because when Darcy needs to lecture the team on something, It's usually because she spent the whole day filling out OSHA forms over something you did." 

The others nodded and Steve had to concede that this was usually the case. Darcy knew the federal OSHA administrator for NY so well by now that the woman had sent them a wedding gift. 

"Tony hasn't done anything," Darcy corrected. Then hastily added, "That I know about. This is not about him." 

"Thank God," Steve muttered before he could stop himself and Darcy sent him a warning look.  

Tony looked triumphant. "See?" He said to Pepper who only rolled her eyes. 

"We really hadn't planned on saying anything for a while, in case something happened but then someone pointed out that you're Avengers... You're who we're supposed to call if something happens so..." Darcy reached into the pocket of the hoodie and pulled out Tony's now unwrapped gift. 

She unfolded it and held it against her hoodie, under the Giants logo, right over her stomach. 

It was a simple white baby onesie, the front adorned only with his an image of his shield. 

Jaws dropped around them, with the exception of Tony's, of course, who was looking smugger than Steve had thought possible. Steve sent him a look that he hoped reminded the other man of just who had the right to look smug here. Tony shrugged in response but did not correct his expression. 

The room was still silent as Darcy turned the onesie around to reveal the back. Right where the baby's bottom would be were the block letters: 

ASSEMBLE!!! 

...A CLEAN UP CREW 

Everyone started laughing and talking at once.    
   
"Oh my God, Darcy! A baby!"  

"I knew something was up with you!"  

"No wonder you bailed on pizza night... Oh crap, who's going to drink all this damn IPA?" 

"When are you due?" 

"This is truly joyful news!"

"Jesus, Steve, you didn't waste any time!" 

"Aren't you going to tell everyone who gave you that wise advice?" 

Steve put his arm protectively around Darcy when their teammates and friends began crowding them in their excitement.  

Darcy was not fazed. "Everybody! Calm down. One at a time! And back it up, people" she added, holding up her free hand. "Give me some room to get oxygen for super-baby-to-be here. Steve's already in Daddy-mode and you're freaking him out. Do you really want to do that?" 

The group, even Tony and Natasha, immediately took a step back, which made Steve bite back what he knew was an accurate but ill-advised comment about Darcy being in Mommy-mode. But really, did he have to say it out loud?  

Glancing at the TV, Pepper tugged on Darcy's arm and pulled her out of Steve's embrace. 

"Where are you going?" 

"Ancient female celebration ritual. We'll be done before kickoff," Pepper explained. Darcy gave Steve a peck on his lips and followed the other women before he could argue. 

"Do this ritual involve body oils or---?" Tony began but stopped when a passing Natasha smacked his head. 

It turned out the ladies were just going across the room to one of the larger sofas. And, there didn't appear to be any oils involved. Just a lot a fussing over Darcy and hugging and chatting all at once.  

"You have to be fast at everything, don't you, Rogers," Sam was saying, pulling Steve's attention back to the men. "You two haven't been married a year yet." 

"Not fast," Steve corrected with a smirk. "Just thorough." 

"No one's giving me credit for sussing this out well before the rest of you?" Tony groused. 

"Not before me," Steve countered. 

"Well, that is true...but I definitely knew next." Tony announced. 

"Hardly," Bruce argued. "I'm the one who told you that she was looked ill in the lab."  

Steve looked at Bruce curiously and the other man shrugged. "I'm a doctor. I notice when people are sick."   
   
"And I notice when..." Tony held his palms in front of his chest in an ill-advised attempt to illustrate the change in Darcy's figure. Rhodey immediately made a cutting gesture across his throat at Tony while nodding towards Steve.   
   
"You notice what exactly, Tony?" Steve tipped his head in warning and Tony dropped his hands. 

"...people stop drinking a lot of coffee. Which she did. That's totally a thing she stopped doing." 

Steve shook his head and focused his gaze on the couch where the ladies sat. Jane had dragged over one of the ottomans for Darcy to prop her feet upon. The doctor seemed to be chatting animatedly, not really bothering to stop to long enough for Darcy to answer or interject. Darcy for her part, appeared resigned to her fate and seemed content to enjoy the comfort of the ottoman while rubbing her stomach. Natasha and Pepper had their heads together over Pepper's tablet, obviously plotting something. Steve knew that, with those two women involved, it was highly unlikely to be something as simple as a baby shower.  

"Steven, as much as I share in your joy, I find that I am concerned," Thor said, pulling his attention back to the men's side of the room. The Asgardian sounded serious. Tony, Bruce, Rhodey, Clint and Sam had resumed their bickering about the pre-game show.  

"Yeah, Thor. What's the matter?" 

"As you know, I consider Darcy to be my Midgardian sister, and as her husband, you are my brother as well as my teammate in battle..." 

"OK..." Steve found himself wondering if wherever Thor was heading with this would involve his newborn child in a tiny Asgardian cape. He wasn't exactly opposed to the idea, providing it could be removed for diaper changes. 

"...So I believe we should travel to Asgard for the duration of this pregnancy." 

Steve blinked. "Travel to Asgard? 

"Yes, Darcy could be cared for according to Asgardian traditions in preparation for the child's birth. And you would be cared for as well, brother." 

"Cared for?" 

"Yes, Darcy would be attended to by women of the court and kept healthy and strong." 

Steve raised an eyebrow. As Thor spoke, Jane had produced an afghan seemingly from thin air and spread it over Darcy's feet.  

"And, you..." Thor continued, oblivious to Steve's gaze,"the warrior men of the court, including myself, would provide a physical outlet for the stress of your impending fatherhood through sport and training." 

Steve stole at glance over to the other couch, where Sam had Tony in a headlock, demanding that the other man take back something insulting he had said about Saints QB Drew Brees.  

"Hmmmm..." Steve mused, his eyes flicking between the women and the men. 

He rolled his eyes when he noticed that Tony had summoned his Iron Man gauntlets and was trying to power his way out of Sam's grip.  

Across the room, Pepper was projecting a 3D hologram of a bassinet to the other women, adding and deleting features as she spoke. Steve made a mental note to remind Pepper that he preferred all baby equipment come without power thrusters.  

"What are your thoughts on this, Steven?" Thor asked.  

He smiled at Thor. "I think you'll find that your Asgardian preparations are actually pretty universal." 

Thor finally followed Steve's gaze over to the women, then over to the men. 

"Ah... I do see your point, brother. You are correct. I often forget that for all our differences, Asgard has much in common with this world."  He clapped Steve on the back, thankfully using only a fraction of his strength. "Your perceptiveness will suit you well as a father." 

"I sure hope so," Steve replied, smiling slightly as Darcy pulled her attention away from the rotating bassinet model long enough to blow him a kiss.  

"It has already served you well as a husband, has it not? And as leader of this group of warriors?" 

"Maybe, but I'm thinking that any kid raised under the influence of the Avengers is going to be a very unique challenge." 

"Indeed, what is your Midgardian phrase? A whole new match?" 

"Close. It's actually, 'a whole new ball game.'" 

"Yes, that it is." 

End. 


End file.
